There was little surprise and much applause Monday evening as Councilmember Mike Wasserman was chosen by his peers to serve as mayor for the next 12 months. Diane McNutt was named vice-mayor. Outgoing Mayor Barbara Spector, after asking for a moment of silence to remember former mayor Pat O'Laughlin, thanked the council and the citizens for the opportunity to serve the town.
The council chambers were packed to see California State Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner deliver the oath of office to Wasserman and McNutt. Poizner has a Los Gatos address, but is not within the town limits. The audience included family and friends of the council--Wasserman's wife Kim and daughter Nicole were front and center, with Ira Spector and Pamela Pirzynski nearby. Newly elected councilmember Steve Rice attended, along with candidates Planning Commission Chair Michael Kane and Architectural Standards Committee Chair Peggy Dallas.
There was only one name nominated for each post, and both votes were unanimous. No one on the dais seemed surprised, and yet it would have been a violation of the Brown Act if the councilmembers had decided the matter in private before the meeting. The explanation is what insiders call "the rotation." It is simply Wasserman and McNutt's turn in these roles. There have been deviations from the rotation in the past, and McNutt may not want to rotate into the mayor's seat again in time for the 2010 election, but barring special circumstances, tradition dictates.
Wasserman, credited with forming Community Unity, a clearinghouse for volunteers and charities, when he was last mayor in 2004-05, proposed expanding Project Cornerstone to become a town-wide effort. Cornerstone's Developmental Assets program is already guiding local schools, the Youth Commission, and LGS Recreation.
"We can't always build a future for our children," Wasserman quoted Franklin Roosevelt, "but we can build our children for the future." Wasserman laid out an ambitious vision, calling the partnership between the town and Cornerstone something "entirely new...never-been-done-before."
The pledge of allegiance was led by four of the Youth Citizens of the Year: Giulianne Pate, Danny Davis, Brandy Pech, and Alyssa Micciche (the three others, Derek Nilsen, Robert Streeter, and Casey Larson, could not attend). Following the meeting, the Chamber of Commerce threw the annual "Democracy In Action" party in the council chambers lobby.
Among those spotted in the audience: Former mayor Randy Attaway and his wife Sara, Planning Commissioners Joanne Talesfore and her husband Nick, Marico Sayoc, Phil Micciche and Arts Commissioner Penelope O'Neill. Most of the town staff was present, including Police Chief Scott Seaman, Assistant Town Manager Pamela Jacobs, Alana Forrest, Jenny Haruyama, Community Services Director Regina Falkner, Parks and Public Works Director Todd Capurso, and Library Director Peggy Conaway. Los Gatos Union School Boardmember Chris Miller, Kiwanis President Steve Norton and Lions President Roger Mason, Bob and Pat Jones. Other faces included Diana Pleasant, Ed Stahl, Paul and Lee Quintana, Eric and Sharon Childs, Don and Rose Arnaudo, Dick Sparrer, Mike Loya, Steve Rauwolf, Rick and Julie DiNapoli, Marianne Hamilton, Cullen Hewitt, Jonathan Knowles, Rita Baum, Ted Simonson, and Patti Hughes.
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